A senior officer, I know, once said at a social gathering, “It’s humbling to see a woman run 100 km”. He was referring to a 100 km marathon he participated in, every year. I didn’t know what to say. Of course, my intention here is far from initiating a debate on the capabilities of the fairer sex, but I had seen people in flesh n blood that would make others seem less human. And, we are not talking about physical capability here, because I feel it can be achieved by anyone or everyone through dedicated training or simply just by sheer god’s gift, or maybe, we find it extraordinary because we are just too caught up with our own priorities to even pay attention to existence of such possibilities. But, very rarely one gets exposed to the virtues which a particular class of humans possess, who are so ordinary and simple that probably a dope would outsmart them on an abandoned straight street, and yet so extraordinary that their acts and behavior defy a common logic. What makes them do it? What is it behind that superhuman behaviour that could shake up any soul witnessing it? May be just a bond he shares with his colleagues or more appropriately, his comrades. May be just a sense of pride he has. Pride in his subunit, unit or profession or simply in his self being, better yet, in all of these.

My first realisation upon this fact came when I was admitted to a Hospital, getting myself treated for some, well, now in the introspection, superficial wounds I had incurred in a counter terrorist operation. And when I could get on my feet long enough to move outside Officers’ Ward, I went to see my buddy, down in the Surgical Ward, who had been my partner in the adventure and of course thus was party to the same consequences with little more serious injuries.Continue reading

Nat Geo Mission Army is Nat Geo India’s 4th Mission property. After the super successful Mission Everest, Mission Udaan, and Mission Navy, Nat Geo cameras now take you inside the Indian Army!

In this episode, Nat Geo takes you inside the Armoured Corp — the glamour boys of the Indian Army! Get an inside look at the state-of-the-art battle tanks – the T-72 and the T-90 tank, the mainstay of India’s tank force. Watch the complex flotation manoeuvres by the amphibious ICV’s in water. Our Final 5 get trained to drive the T-90 tank and get an opportunity to fire it!